KUCHING: There is an increase in the number of registered vehicles in Sarawak in the past 10 years.
State Transport Minister Datuk Seri Lee Kim Shin said the percentage had significantly increased by 33.7 – from 1,277,245 in 2010 to 1,925,463 in 2020.
“In 2010, there were 589,885 private cars or 46.18 per cent compared to 552,108 motorcycles or 43.23 per cent.
“By 2020, motorcycles had overtaken motorcars as the main mode of transportation wwith 875,169 or 45.5 per cent while private cars made up 853,405 or 44.3 per cent.”
He said this when officiating at the launch of the state-level road safety campaign in conjunction with the coming Chinese New Year in Jalan Tun Jugah here on Monday (Jan 17).
Lee also said that in tandem with rapid economic growth, more and more people now could afford to purchase vehicles.
“This is the reason why there are many private cars and motorcycles on our roads today.”
Apart from that, he said there was an increase in road infrastructure thus also leading to more vehicles on the road.
“The rapid economic growth and development that we have enjoyed in the past were also contributed by the vast improvement and development of road infrastructure and connectivity that linked cities, towns and villages in the state.
“Hence, the length of roads over the period of 13 years had increased by 49.3 per cent from 13,231km in 2006 to 26,836km in 2019.”
With the increasing number of private cars and motorcycles as well as commercial vehicles on the major roads, he said this meant that traffic volume had reached a magnitude that threatened the safety of road users.
“Therefore, road users are reminded to be careful while driving, and if not, it will cause accidents to increase.”
